U.S. President Donald Trump boarded Air Force One bound for Beijing, saying he would discuss a range of issues including trade with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Speaking to reporters at the White House before departing for China on Wednesday, Trump said, "We have a lot to discuss (with President Xi)," adding, "Trade, above all, will be (on the agenda)." Asked what message he wanted to convey to Xi regarding the war with Iran, Trump replied, "We're going to have a long conversation about that," and "He's my friend, and a lot of good things are going to happen."
Moments later, however, Trump stressed, "Frankly, I wouldn't say Iran is one of the topics of discussion," adding, "Iran, we have well managed, and either we make a deal or they'll be obliterated." He also said he did not need China's help on Iran. The remarks are interpreted as an effort to guard against any weakening of his negotiating leverage over the Iran war issue ahead of his summit with Xi. Throughout his tenure, Trump has been extremely wary of appearing weak.
Commenting on the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) hitting 3.8 percent year-on-year in April, a more than three-year high, Trump said, "If you go back to just before the war, inflation was 1.7 percent over the previous three months," recalling, "At that time, we were at a crossroads of whether to let madmen have nuclear weapons." He went on to insist, "The American people know that oil prices will plunge once the war ends." His argument is that he accepted some inflationary pressure to go to war to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and that oil prices will fall quickly once the war ends.
Trump also claimed a resolution to the war in Ukraine was near and did not rule out the possibility of visiting Russia within the year.
Trump will arrive in Beijing on Thursday night Korea time to begin a three-day, two-night visit to China. It marks the first visit to China by a U.S. president in about nine years, since Trump's November 2017 trip during his first term. The U.S. and Chinese leaders are scheduled to meet at least six times over the course of the visit.
According to the White House, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair were among those aboard Air Force One with Trump as he headed to China. Trump's second son Eric and daughter-in-law Lara also joined the trip. First Lady Melania Trump did not accompany him this time. Melania had accompanied Trump on his 2017 visit to China.
